Hay

[greybeard]

Good quality hay in this area is also in short supply.
Part of the problem was the late start we got this year due to poor haying weather in June and early July. Most of the hay was put up over mature and lots weathered.
The late start meant no second cut to use to balance all the poor stuff.
I too am buying pellets and will be using more oat straw or grass seed residue.
Another part of the problem is all the hay fields are petering out here and at current cash crop prices are not likely to be reseeded.
Kathy,I think they call those weeds you refer to as accumulators.Some have evolved to be able to grow in soils that don't have sufficient micro nutrients to support most plants. I saw a list that categorized the ones that were best for the different nutrients but haven't been able to find it recently.

[grassfarmer]

SADIE, We tried the Alltrace bolus on the cows back in Scotland in the 80's and they were an abject failure. We had severe mineral shortages there particularly of copper which manifested itself in two ways - open cows and weak calves unwilling to suckle when they were born. We tried the bolus at fall preg-checking and by the time the calves were born in April they were weak and blood tests (on calves)showed their levels very low for the things in the bolus. It was reckoned the cows built a kind of film around the bolus which thickened and hardened preventing the contents being released. Can't say how it affected fertility in cows the following summer as we reverted to giving them loose mineral also. Horrible things to apply to cows - fighting cows heads, getting a few spat out and a few broken open with cows back teeth. Expensive, unpractical and useless in my experience.

[PureCountry]

Kathy wrote: "It shouldn't surprise anybody here that humans are, in general, magnesium deficient also. If you want to feel better, I recommend taking magnesium citrate at bedtime (not at the same time as your other vitamins/pharma pills).

Animals turn on and off genetics with what they eat (including humans). In some ways, by drastically altering diets away from what is naturally available in the grazing environment during summer, we are creating newborns with a different dietary requirement than their dams.

There is truly some benefit in baling up weeds, or weedy cereal crops for the cows, as the weeds can sometimes provide better mineral content than the hay/crop. Our fixation with clean fields and monoculture crops/feed is smoke and mirrors when it comes to balanced diets."

Kathy, I thought this was a very good post. I agree with all of it, and wanted to add something that everyone seems to overlook - all of this talk of defficiencies and balanced diets relates directly to 1 place - the soil. Every year we spend millions as agr. producers on top ups for our livestock when they run low on anything from trace minerals to energy and protein.

Why is it so difficult to look at improving the soil first? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Healthy well mineralized soils provide forages and crops with all they require to be healthy, and they in turn feed the livestock and people with all they require.

Instead of Cal-Mag in a bottle, try Ca on the soil. Google GSR Calcium.

Instead of high copper/selenium minerals try copper sulfate on the soil or a whole range of other things that kick start the soil towards being healthy again. Anyone can do it, it just takes a little dedication in switching your focus from cures to prevention.

[SADIE]

Update responding to two threads. Mineral supplementation and Poor Quality Hay.

This long cold stretch of 2010/2011 winter following the very water drenched 2010 hay growing season is really going to take its toll on the beef cow herd this spring. There is no "good quality hay" in this area. Hay production under irrigation has totally disappeared also in the last 3-5 years---Irrigation landowners have gone back to cereals/canola/lentils rather than grow hay for a rapidly shrinking cow-calf herd.

IMHO as a former large animal veterinarian and still in contact with basically the entire practicing veterinarians across the central prairies there is a huge increasing report of "downer cows" occuring. The situation will keep getting worse before it gets better spring 2011.

My 20 years of practice experience were faced with this dreaded problem. Poor quality "hay"---basically poor straw value, big rumen (gut filled) cows that go done on the producer. It starts with the downer cow (can't get up) and often a post-mortem. Again I was only a "mere" veterinarian but on autopsy the classical signs were checking the "fat pad reserves" on the carcasses body. Often the "fat pad" around the heart showed only signs of "jelly".

Lab results and blood tests always looked good to your client but like was mentioned on an earlier thread "blood test" and lab works are really for show and "covering your ass" if this case reached the "court-room" or when the SPCA is called in. Veterinarians in practice soon learnt to "run and hide" from these types of calls--It is a no win situation.

Downer cow syndrome you now have to convince the producer that you have to change the diet---good quality hay--try to find it. Bring on the grain ration--it is now high priced grain and if you do introduce grain you have to do it very slowly. A year like this with even a decent cull cow price (Less condition) might trigger a herd-sell off also.

Again 2011 winter--to spring calving season will hear some real experiences.

[SADIE]

Respnse to mineral supplementation.

Again this has always been a challanging experience over the years I have been involved in the industry. What is the right ration. How do I get the daily intact to each of the animals in the herd, concern of some getting extra, what about concern of toxicity?

The All trace mineral bolus--When introduced to the practicing veterinarians showed some definate promise in different circumstances.

The All trace mineral bolus---administer 1 bolus/300lbs max 2 per animal to be used in ruminating animal on grass. Bolus stays in reticulum, active live is 240 days,sold in boxes of 20, need a seperate "balling gun"--the red spanbolet gun will not work.

Daily supplement from two boluses is:

copper 135.5mg
cobalt 2.0mg
selenium 2.1mg
manganese 69.4mg
zinc 111.5mg
iodine 4.1mg

vit A 4,580I.U
vit D 916 I.U.
vit E 9.0 I.U.

Used extensively with the dairy veterinarians in the drying up, pre-breeding season---very successful and immediately notice an increase in milk production per animal.

Rather than put the two boluses into the Beef COW---like gf mentioned the heads swinging and application problems I personnally tried this bolus in my 2009 fall and 2010 pre-weaning beef animals---very impressed with the body condition. Again I am involved in pen showing competition with pens of 5 pens of 10 feeder steers and open replacement heifers---I like/ will keep using it again but asked the company to have a smaller bolus 1 bolus/150lbs weight to put in spring calves going to grass. I'v received word that my herd will be part of a "clinical trial project" for spring of 2011.

Our operation sells open replacement heifers going to grass sale APRIL. For years have been challanged over the winter with Thiamine deficiancy,and other concerns with trace minerals. Loved the results using this product winter 2009-2010 preparing 50 head for spring "open replacement sale"

This product appears to be gathering interest from the purebred bull cattlemen to prepare their bulls for the upcoming sales in the spring. Again it is all about body condition, less handling of an animal, less work with "needle injection" making sure each animals is getting its adequate daily doseage.

This All trace mineral bolus was followed through on several studies with the WCVM and postmortems during the timeline of bolus in the reticulum. The disintegration of the bolus followed the timeline it was in the animal.

I also have used this as a treatment for that "poor condition" cow or bull that needed treatment last summer. As a career veterinarian it is becoming part of a veterinary clinics protocal in treating these types of animals.

Conclusion---by trying the bolus in mass on a part of my cow-calf operation it re-emphaszied the value of vit and trace mineral supplementation. I appreciate the practical suggestions from Happy Trails in supplementing the range cow.

The final stage would be to follow Pure Country and some how increase the nutrients in the forage as part of the land use management.